Understanding the “People” of the People’s Liberation Army A Study of Marriage, Family, Housing, and Benefits Marcus Clay, Ph.D. Printed in the United States of America by the China Aerospace Studies Institute ISBN-13: 978-1724626929 ISBN-10: 1724626922 To request additional copies, please direct inquiries to Director, China Aerospace Studies Institute, Air University, 55 Lemay Plaza, Montgomery, AL 36112 Cover art is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. E-mail: [email protected] Web: http://www.airuniversity.af.mil/CASI https://twitter.com/CASI_Research @CASI_Research https://www.facebook.com/CASI.Research.Org https://www.linkedin.com/company/11049011 Disclaimer The views expressed in this academic research paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the U.S. Government or the Department of Defense. 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For information on reprint and linking permissions, please contact the China Aerospace Studies Institute. CASI would like to acknowledge the work and effort of Marcus Clay for this work. China Aerospace Studies Institute CASI's mission is to advance understanding of the capabilities, development, operating concepts, strategy, doctrine, personnel, organization, and limitations of China's aerospace forces, which include: the PLA Air Force (PLAAF); PLA Naval Aviation (PLAN Aviation); PLA Rocket Force (PLARF); PLA Army (PLAA) Aviation, the Strategic Support Force (PLASSF), primarily space and cyber; and the civilian and commercial infrastructure that supports the above. CASI supports the Secretary, Chief of Staff, and other senior leaders of the U.S. Air Force. CASI provides expert research and analysis supporting decision and policy makers in the Department of Defense and across the U.S. government. CASI can support the full range of units and organizations across the USAF and the DoD. CASI accomplishes its mission through conducting the following activities: • CASI primarily conducts open-source native-language research supporting its five main topic areas. • CASI conducts conferences, workshops, roundtables, subject matter expert panels, and senior leader discussions to further its mission. CASI personnel attend such events, government, academic, and public, in support of its research and outreach efforts. • CASI publishes research findings and papers, journal articles, monographs, and edited volumes for both public and government-only distribution as appropriate. People of the PLA • CASI establishes and maintains institutional relationships with organizations and institutions in the PLA, the PRC writ large, and with partners and allies involved in the region. • CASI maintains the ability to support senior leaders and policy decision makers across the full spectrum of topics and projects at all levels, related to Chinese aerospace. CASI supports the U.S. Defense Department and the China research community write-large by providing high quality, unclassified research on Chinese aerospace developments in the context of U.S. strategic imperatives in the Asia- Pacific region. Primarily focused on China’s Military Air, Space, and Missile Forces, CASI capitalizes on publicly available native language resources to gain insights as to how the Chinese speak to and among one another on these topics. 2 Chinese Aerospace Studies Institute Preface As the People’s Liberation Army PLA continues to undergo a wide range of institutional and equipment changes, it garners much attention from think tanks, academics, and other militaries from around the world. While the organizational and technological changes of the PLA are certainly important and merit study, one aspect that often is overlooked is the ‘softer’ side, the people who actually operate that equipment, and occupy the positions that make up the organizations. This study focuses on the People of the People’s Liberation Army. Without people, there is no army, and without highly trained people, there is no modern army. This is true not just for China, but for nations all over the world, the United States included. U.S. military periodicals and journals often feature articles and exposes detailing a myriad of ‘people problems’ facing the Department of Defense today. Obesity of potential recruits, low levels of civilian unemployment, and massive pilot shortage, are just a few of the challenges that the U.S. facing with recruiting, training, and retaining the best and brightest for the U.S. military. China’s Communist Party faces many of the same challenges in trying to fill and maintain the ranks of the PLA; however, some are uniquely Chinese, and may come as a surprise to those not familiar with certain aspects of Chinese culture. For example: “Military spouses are no longer private citizens once they marry an active duty military member, and the stability of their marriage becomes a matter of national security (by law).” People of the PLA 3 Certainly, a housing regulation here and a leave policy change there does not merit the same amount of research resources as does the newest fighter jet or missile technology; however, in order to ensure that leaders, policymakers, and practitioners at all levels get a holistic view of the PLA, the “People” can not be overlooked entirely. “Understanding the “People” of the People’s Liberation Army” seeks to lay the foundation to better understand some of the key personnel issues that the PLA faces, and openly discusses in its own newspapers and journals. Dr. Brendan S. Mulvaney Director, China Aerospace Studies Institute 4 Chinese Aerospace Studies Institute Introduction Understanding personnel issues of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is crucial for making objective evaluations of the key strengths and weaknesses of China’s growing military. Ultimately, military power relies on its people, as a recent RAND commentary correctly suggested.1 Although many researchers focus on the potential capabilities of new equipment entering the force, it is important to consider that the PLA is learning from its ongoing interactions with Chinese society and concentrating on improving its force structure and the quality of personnel.2 One key aspect pertaining to the recruitment/conscriptioni and retention of qualified personnel for the PLA is its quality of life arrangements, especially its marriage, family, housing, and benefits policies. The current literature on the content and implications of China’s military reform mainly focuses on three areas: 1) major organizational reform including establishing a new joint command and control structure with nodes at the Central Military Commission (CMC) and theater levels and the 300,000-man downsizing3; 2) the rapid upgrade and the accelerated research and development of more advanced weapon systems and equipment4 ; and 3) CMC Chairman Xi Jinping’s control over the PLA and plan to reinvigorate Chinese Communist Party (CCP) organs within the military. However, an important yet overlooked aspect of the current military reform, potentially the weakest link pertaining to the sustainability of the reform, remains the military’s force building and personnel i In the PLA, all officers/cadre are recruited, while the enlisted force is a combination of recruitment and conscription. People of the PLA 5 issues. The rapid reform measures being forcefully carried out at various levels of the Chinese military have inadvertently created a significant amount of pressure and anxiety not only for the military personnel but also their family members. As the reform intensifies, frequent family separations, long work hours and uncertainty surrounding the reorganization and troop reduction may negatively affect active duty personnel’s stress level, put a strain on their personal relationships with wives, husbands, children and other family members and friends, and cause them to rethink their intention to stay in the armed forces in the long term. Indeed, in the eyes of Chinese law, military spouses are no longer private citizens once they marry an active duty military member, and the stability of their marriage becomes a matter of national security.ii The PLA seems to be closely monitoring the emotional status of its personnel5 and taking active measures to revise existing or establish new measures to address pressing concerns of the military families. Stress-related mental health issues have prompted the PLA, in particular the political work departments, to increase implementation of mental health oversight at the unit level.iii It is no surprise that in his report given at the 19th National People’s Congress (NPC)